“This is a really exciting challenge for these players to test themselves against a world-class opponent in Pakistan,” Cooley said.

“Every member of this squad has played first-class, List A or Futures League cricket in the past 12 months, and we are confident that this opportunity will benefit these players as they look to press their claims for state selection, and hopefully in years to come, national honours.

“Already this season, we have seen some extremely positive signs as a result of players getting the opportunity to test themselves at a higher level of cricket through the CA XI, with Arjun Nair among the top 10 wicket-takers in the Matador BBQs Cup and Ryan Gibson among the top 10 run-scorers.

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Four players – Bosisto, Blues allrounder Nair, Queensland’s Mark Steketee and South Australia’s Cameron Valente – have already played in the Sheffield Shield cricket while 10 members of the squad played in this season’s Matador Cup.

Three players who represented the CA XI during the Matador Cup have gone on to earn Shield call-ups so far this season.

NSW batsman Gibson earned his Blues debut, while Victoria ‘keeper Sam Harper and Bosisto returned to represent their respective state sides.

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The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Cricket Australia.